Drinking glass washer conveyer



Jan. 25, 19.44.` A. w. ARNoLD DRINKING GLASS WASHER CONVEYER 2Sheets-sheet 1 Filed Nov. 25, 1940 INVENTOR Patented Jamas, 1944 'f'AUNITED STATE-Si" tPT-NT OFFICE- p A f f 2,339,832 t v DmNKrNo GLASSWASHER coNvEYER Alex W. Arnold, La Crosse, Wis. Application November-25, 1940, lSerial No. 367,053

1o claims. I(el. 19a-107) -My invention relates in general to'improvements in the art of cleansing objects in succession, and relatesmore specificallyto improvements in the construction and operation ofwashing mechanisms for washing and sterilizing ing glasses, cups or thelike.

Generally defined, an object of the present invention is to provide' animprovedv cleansing mechanism for drinking glasses or the like, which issimple and compact in construction and highly efficient in use A morespecic object ofimy invention is to provide a new and useful drinkingglass Washer equipped with improved mechanism for transf-v porting'theglasses to, through and from fthe machine en masse'and without danger ofbreakage.

provide an improved glass cleansing machine adapted to rapidly andeffectively wash and rinse a succession of relatively brittlereceptacles' of various sizes, and with minimum effort-'and attention onthepart of the operator.'

A further specific object of my present invention is to provide simpliedstructure for trans'- porting cup-shaped objects such as inverteddrinking glasses along a definite path, both gently and rapidly, andwithout danger of chipping the mouth engaging rims of the receptacles.

Still another specic object of the invention is to provide a relativelysimple, durable and reliable machine for thoroughly washing or cleansthelike.

An additional specific object of my inventionis drink- Fig. 2 is alongitudinal central 'verticalsection' through the washing unit of Fig'.1, taken Aalong the line 2-2 and showing the drive and-,other normallyconcealed details of construction, the discharge lane enclosure likewisehaving been omitted;`

Fig. 3 .is a bottom view of the enclosurewhich normally houses thewashing, vsterilizing and rinsing zone;

Fig. -4 is ya fragmentary horizontal section through the rotor portionof the unit, the section being taken beneath the rotor andfthe latterbeing shown in dot-and-dash lines;

' Fig. 5 is a fragmentarylongitudinal section through 'the machineAtaken 'along the line '5-'5 of 'Fig. l, and showing the transportingbars in t t i the Supply lane elevated to the maximum extent; Anotherspecic object of this invention is ,to

.. .position;

Fig. 1l is a similar section showing Fig. 6 is another fragmentarysection through i the supply lane, showingthe transporting bars inmedial foremost position; f

Fig.v 7 "is still another fragmentarysection through the glass supplylane, showing thetransporting bars in lowermost` position;` i

Fig. 8 is a motion diagram depicting the movement of the transportingracks or bars in the supply lane; Fig.' 9 is a motion diagramillustrating the movement of the transporting bars or racks in thetumbler discharge lane;

Fig. 10 -is a fragmentary section taken longitudinally' through 'theobject discharge lane, and showing the transporting bars in uppermosttilted porting bars in lowermosttiltedposition;

Fig. 12 is a transverse vertical section through Y, the glass or tumblerWasher; taken along the line l2-I2 of Fig. 1; v

to provide an improved object advancing mechanism operable from a singlerotary driving shaft to advance the successive objects in one" lanev ina direction opposite to that of the objects inv-'anzi adjacent parallellane. I These and other specific objectsand advantages of my presentimprovement, .and `of :the mode of constructing and of "operatingdrinking 'gla'ss Whilemy inventionv has been washers built in accordancewith theinvention, j:

may behad byreierringto the drawingsaccornz-` panying andfforming a partofzthis spacification 'wherein like referencecharacters designate y lr isame or similar parts in the-various views,` u

Fig. through a lower portion of' the. machinetaken along. the line I3-I3 of Fig. 2, showing the motorv ldrive and pumps; and n f Fig. l4-is abottom view of the supply anddiss 'I .,charge lracks and of a portionofvthe'driving 'mechanism-therefor.I l f shown and described herein asbeing embodied in a machine' especially adapted to handle and Washldrinking glasses,erf-ytumblers formed of relatively brittle material, itis .not -rnyj-.desire orintention to there- ',by unnecessarily limit orrestrict` the scope, or

utility of the improvement forother purposes..v

Referring to the drawings, the improved drinking glass cleanser showntherein comprises in vthe dischargerlane enclosure having been omitted;55 general a rigid main .frame ll adapted` to t rest the 'trans- 'f 13is a transverse horizontal section tumbler rinsing basin 23 associatedwith the upper,

deck I8 near the inlet end of the supply lane I9 and having a. rinsingwater supply 4nozzle 24 therein .and -a removable cover 25 therefor; anobject advancing rack consisting of a series of parallel interconnectedlongitudinally and ver-- tically movable transporting bars 26 movablebetween parallel fixed bars 21, located within-the supply lane I9; aglass supporting and Vrevolving rotor or slotted disk 23 lmounted upon adrive shaft 29 with its upper surface inhorizontalalinement with and inclose proximity to the 4delivery ends of the fixed bars 21, the disk 28being normally covered yby an annular removable hood 43Il and-havingaseries of liquid `spray nozzlesr 3|, 32 therebeneath; an objectydischarge rack consistin'g` of a. series of parallel interconnectedtiltable and longitudinally movable transporting bars 3-3 movablebetween parallel fixed bars 34, located within `the discharge lane 20; a-pair of liquid pumps 35, 36 mounted on the. lower deck 22, `and a hotliquid supply pipe 31, for delivering liquid to thenozzles 24, 3|, 32;and an electric motor .3B-mounted on lthe deck 22 andcooperating withthe 'transporting racks, rotor and pumps to drive these elements. Y

The. main frame I1 which. provides -a `durable but .portable support forthefwashing unit, maybe formed ofstandard bar and sheet metal, andtheupper ldeck I8 with lwhich the transporting-mechanism'for thetumblers ordrinking glasses 39 i-s associated, may also be provided with suitabledrainage pans 40, 4I disposed beneath-the :lanes I9,-29 and below thewashing zone 2 I, respectively. Theremovable housing orhood-30 isprovided with inlet and discharge openings 42, 43 whichlnormally-communicate ywith the supply and delivery lanes I9, 29respectivelyfwhen the hood is in proper position, and the hood 30 mayalso be provided with a transparent top closure 44 and with` pliabledivision and wiping partitions 45 depending from the closure 44. These`partitions 45 'must however provide suiiicient clearance to Ipermitpassage therebeneath, by the tallest tumblers or glasses 39 which are tobe cleansed, and the rotor disk 28 is provided with a series of narrowrslots 46 disposed either radially or circumferentially relative to theshaft 29, for permitting liquid from the nozzles 3|, 32 to strike theadvancing objects carried by the rotor. The delivery end of the glasssupply lane I9 may-beprov-lded with a guide plate 41 for conducting theglasses 39 en masse into the hood receiving open- -ing 42, and -theiixed bars 21, 34 of the desk I8 extend into close proximity with theperiphery of the revolving disk 23. The removable housing 30 maybesupported from the deck I8 centrally ofV within the lanes I9, 20 andwhich lare adapted to transport the objects or inverted glasses 39 enmasse along these lanes to and from the washing zone 2 I, Aare ofspecial and improved construction, as shown in detail in Figs. 5 to 10inclusive, and in Fig. 14. Both of the transporting racks aresimultaneously movable by means of a common transverse horizontal shaft53 journalled in bearingsV carried by the upper deck I8, and adapted tobe` rotated Yat suitable relatively slow speed by the motor 38 throughspeed reducing chain gearing 54, see Figs. 2, 5, 12 and 13. The chaindrive :is applied to the medial portion of the shaft 53 near the centrallongitudinal partition I8', and the-portion of the shaft 53 beneath thesupply v,lane I9 is provided with two laterally spaced eccentrics 55 andan intermediate eccentric 56 and has Va crank-151 at theextreme endthereof, while the .portion of this shaft 53 beneath the discharge lane20 is provided with only two laterally separated leccentrics 58 :andwith an end crank ,59. While all of thev eccentrics 55, 58 are fastenedto thshat 53 in the same position relativeftotheshft axis, the cranks51, 59 are disposed' oppositely with respect to thisv axis, and theeccentrics 55, 58 -coact With vplates 6,0 secured -to the correspondingends of the bars 26, 33 respectively of the two transporting grates, sothatwhen the shaft 53 rotates these correspondvingbar ends Vare, raisedand lowered in unison by these particular eccentrics 55, 58. However,the tumbler `supply bars 26xnust feed the glasses 39 forwardly, whilethe bars 33 must convey the glasses rearwardly;- and the 4bars 26 moveparallel while-the bars, 33 swing about their delivery ends. Because ofithis difference in movement, the mechanisms for producing the desiredactions of .the bars 26, 33 `avill'bedescribed separately.

.',leferring particularly to the inlet feed mechanisxn shown in- Figs. 5to 8inclusive and wherein the .grate bars V2li are movable as shown inthe diagram voffFig. '8, the crank 51 is connected by a connecting -rodr6I with a pivot 62 secured to the bars 26 neartheinitial washing basin23. A bearing .plate 64 is secured to the vbars 26 beneath the pivot 62and coacts with a roller 85 carried .by one end Iof a lever 66, and thermedial portion of .this lever 66 is fulcrurned upon a fixed pivot pin 61while the opposite end thereof coacts with the central eccentric 55. Theassemblage is .therefore such, that when the eccentrics 55, 56 arerevolved by rotation of the shaft 53, the eccentrics .5.5 `will merelyraise and lower the adjacentendsof the bars 26, and the centraleccentric coacting with the lever 66 will swing this leverso as to cause`the roller 6.5 to simultaneously raise and lower the opposite ends ofthe bars 26, whilethe crank l5'! acting through the connecting .rodlandpin 62 will reciprocate the bars 26 during their up and down movement.During this -reciprocation the plates 6E! ride o n the eccentrics `55and the plate 64: rides upon the roller 65, and as the bars 26 liftormove upwardly .be-

yond the intervening xedbars 21, `the moving barslift -the invertedglasses 39, carry them forward .toward the `washing zone ;2I, anddeposit them in ,advanced position upon the fixed bars 21 -wheretheglasses remain while the bars 26 are moving downwardly and rearwardlybeneath the supporting-surfaces of the fixed bars. Thisstep bystep/advaiicement proceeds until the glasses A39 within the lanel I9have all been delivered to the conveying disk 2,8, and thetransportation is .el'ected .gently vand entirely without shock. 'Ihediagram of Fig. vclearly shows the parallel and advancing movement ofthe bars 26, and Figs` 5, 6 and '1 clearly illustrate the progress madeby each glass 39 during one complete cycle of movement of the bars 26. yY

Referring more specifically to the discharge mechanism shown in Figs. 9to 11 inclusive, and in which the grate ortransporting bars 33 aremovable as shown in the diagram of Fig. 9, the crank 59 is connected bya connecting rod 69 to a pin 19 secured to the bars 33 near the tumblerdelivery endsthereof. A pair of bearing plates 1l are secured to thebars 33 beneath the pivot pin 19 and coact with rollers 12 journalled ona stationary pin 13, so that when the crank 59 revolves, the bars 33will be moved longitudinally without causing their delivery ends toraise and lower. The tumbler or glass receiving ends of the bars 33 willhowever be raised and lowered above and below the top surfaces of theintervening fixed bars 34, when the eccentrics 55 are rotated, but byvirtue of the opposite disposition of the cranks 51, 59 with respect tothe shaft 53 and to' the eccentrics, 55, 5S, the bars 33 will move in adirection opposite to that of thebars 2B when these bars are disposed'above` the stationary intervening 'bars 21, 34. During reciprocation ofthe bars 33 by the crank 59 the plates 1l ride upon the fixed rollers12, and the plates 60 ride upon the revolving eccentrics 59, andas theforward ends of the bars 33 move upwardly above the top surfaces ofthe'intervening fixed bars'34, theylift the adjacent inverted glasses 39and carry them rearwardly along the lane When the bars 33 aresubsequently lowered beheath thel fixed bars '34, the glasses 39 aredeposited upon the upper surfaces of the stationary bars 34 where theyremain while the moving bars 33 are moved forwardly to complete thecycle. This step by step advancement of the inverted glasses 39continues until the tumblers have been thoroughly drained, dried anddelivered from the discharge end of the lane 2D and enclosure 5i, andthe transportation is again effected gently and without shock, Thediagram of Fig. 9 clearly indicates the oscillatory motion of the bars33 and the direction of longitudinal displacement of these bars alongthe lane.

The washing and cleansing liquid may be applied to the glasses 39 inseveral stages, and when the dirty tumblers or objects are firstdelivered to the Washing unit, they may be initially rinsed in the basin23 with the aid ofthe nozzle 2t to which rinsing` liquid may be suppliedfrom the pump 36 through a pipe 15. The pump 35 may be operated by themotor shaft` 59; and the pump 35 which is likewise operable `by theshaft 59, may be caused to deliver chlorinated liquid or the like to thenozzle 32 through a pipe 16. The pipe 31 which is provided with acontrol valve 11 and communicates with the nozzles 3l, may be connectedto a suitable Vhot water supply source or to a third pump mounted on themotor shaft 50, and these three sources of cleansing fluid Awillordinarily suflice to 'clean glasses and tumblers subjected to ordinaryuse. Y nozzles 3| are located in one zone formed by the partitions 45,while the'chlorinating nozzles 33 are disposed in a preceding zonelikewise defined by these partitions, so that cleansing is infacteffected in segregated zones. 'o o It may in; some cases also bedesir-able to provide means for thoroughly brushing at least portions ofthe glasses 39 while they Vare being transported through the .washingzonel 2|, and such mechanism is shown in Figs'.'1,2.and3,and corn'- Therinsing c.'

the lips of the users.

prises a series of rotary bristle brushes 18 each mounted for rotationat the lower end of a spindle 19 journalled in a bearing 80 carried bythe inner wall of the hood 39, and having a sheave or pulley 8l at itsupper end; a series of driving belts 82 drivingly connecting thesuccessive sheaves 8l with each other, and with a driving pulley 83carried by a vertical shaft 84 which may be driven from the main driveshaft 59 by means of a belt drive B5; and a series of leaf springs 86carried by the outer wall of the hood 30 and coacting with thesuccessive tumblers or glasses 39 resting upon the conveyer disk 28, tourge the mouth portions of the tumblers into the zone of action of thebrushes 13. With the aid of this brushing mechanism, the'successivetumblers or glasses 39 which are deposited in inverted position upon theconveying disk 28, will be rotated about their own axes andsimultaneously thoroughly scrubbed at their mouth portions, as they arebeing transported by the revolving disk 28, and the leaf springs 86 willfunction to urge the glasses 39 against the rotating brushes 18. Whilethe brushes 18 may be widened to cause them to cooperate with the entireouter side surfaces of the glasses 39, this is unnecessary in mostcases, and it is ordinarily suflicient to merely scrub the rims of theglasses which are brought in contact with Since the use of the scrubbingbrushes 18 is optional, and theirgoperation should be clearly apparentfrom the foregoing description, they will not be further described inthe description of the normal use of the machine. l

While the normal use and operation of my improved drinking glass washershould be apparent from the foregoing description, a short resume ofthis operation will again be given. The dirty glasses presented to thewashing unit may, if necessary, be initially washed by subjecting thesame to liquid discharged by the nozzle 24, after which the glasses 39may be set in inverted position upon the bars 25, 21 in the supply laneI9, The moving bars 26 will then cooperate with the glasses to advancethem step by step and en masse, toward the inlet opening 42 of theautomatic washing zone. As the successive inverted glasses are deliveredupon the rotating disk 28, they are advanced over the chlorinatingnozzles 32 and over the hot water rinsing nozzles 3l, and are thussubjected to thorough washing action while revolving about the axis ofthe shaft 29. Upon reaching the opening t3,v the washed and rinsedinverted glasses 39 are removed from the disk 28 by the fixed nose ofthe housing 39 disposed adjacent to the opening `t3 and extending towardthe partition ld. The glasses are subsequently pushed rearwardly intothezone of action 4of the discharge bars 33, and are thereafter gentlyadvanced by successive steps until they are ultimately delivered fromthe machine. The feeding bars 33 cooperate with the inverted glasses toproduce smooth transition of the mass, and

Vthe rotating disk 23 will remove the glasses in -drained therefrom andwill be dried by removal 'of vapors from the enclosure 5l, and theoperation of the machine' Vafter the initially washed glasses are onceplaced in the zone of action of the bars 29, is continuous and entirelyautomatic. In constructing a machine of this type, thefbar's 26,21, 33,31E-should be made of such width that small glasses will not tilt intothe crevices betweenv these bars, and the slots 4S in the' disk 2B mustalso be of a width which will prevent such undesirable tilting. Themachine may be utilized vto lwash glasses or tumblers of various heightsand diameters, and while the slots d6 and spaces between thetransporting bars have been shown relatively wide for the sake ofclearness in illustration, these gaps should necessarily be reduced to aminimum From the foregoing detailed description it will be apparent thatmy present invention provides an improved washing unit for drinkingglasses, tumblers or the like, which is simple and compact inconstruction, which has enormous capacity and wherein relatively brittleobjects may be most effectively cleansed without danger of chipping orbreaking the glasses. The improved washing unit may be utilized toadvantage in various places where glasses ordinarily accumulate, such asrestaurants, drink dispensarios or the like, and the unit may either besupported from the oor or disposed upon a shelf within a drinkdispensing bar. relatively low cost and the rotor and conveying bars areoperable with minimum power by a relatively small motor, and while therevolving disk 28 is operating at a relatively low speed and the bars25, 33 are preferably operable at moderate I speed, it has been foundthat machines of this type will eifectively handle large numbers ofglasses without in any manner damaging the containers.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this inventionto the exact details of construction, or to the precise mode ofoperation of machines such as herein shown and described, for variousmodifications within the scope of the appended claims may occur topersons skilled in the art.

I claim:

l.. Iii-combination. a rotor for transporting articles in successionthrough a definite zone, parallel feed and discharge lanes leading toand from cles in succession along a curved path about an i upright axis,laterally adjacent feed and discharge lanes leading to and from saidpath and having spaced parallel fixed bars therein, a series of barsmovable to parallel positions above and below the upper surfaces of thexed bars in said feed lane, another series of bars tiltably movable topositions above and below the upper surfaces of the fixed bars in saiddischarge lane, and means for simultaneously reciprocating said movablebars.

3. In combination, means for transporting articles invsuccession througha definite zone, laterally adjacent feed and discharge lanes leading toand from said zone and having spaced parallel xed bars therein, aseries* of bars movable to parallel positions above and below the uppersurfaces of the iixed bars in said feed lane, lanother series of barstiltably movable to positions above and below the upper surfaces of the.fixed bars in said discharge lane, and common The assemblage can beoperated at Cai means for simultaneously reciprocating said -movablebars in opposite directions in said lanes when disposed above theadjacent fixed bars.

4. In combination, means providing feed and discharge lanes havingcorresponding communicating ends and being disposed in-the sameapproximately horizontal plane, a plurality of longitudinally extendingparallel xed bars in each of said lanes, a series of parallel barsmovable in parallelism along and-above the iixed bars in one of saidlanes, a series of parallel tiltable bars swingably movable above andalong the fixed bars in the otherof said lanes, and common means forraising and lowering all of said movable bars in unison and forsimultaneously moving the same longitudinally in opposite directions.

5. In combination, means -providing feed and discharge lanes havingcorresponding communicating ends and being disposed in the sameapproximately horizontal plane, a plurality of parallel fixed barsextending along each of said lanes, a plurality of parallelsimultaneously movable bars interposed between the fixed bars in eachlane, and means for simultaneously imparting opposite longitudinal andlvertical motion to the movable bars of both lanes.

6. In combination, means providing feed and discharge lanes havingcorresponding communicating ends and being disposed in the sameapproximately horizontal plane, a plurality of parallel fixed barsextending along each of said lanes, a plurality of parallelsimultaneously movable bars interposed between the fixed bars in eachlane, means for impartingsimultaneous longitudinal and rocking motion tothe movable bars'in one of said lanes, and means for impartingsimultaneous longitudinal and up and down motion to the movable bars inthe other lane while maintaining said movable bars inapproximatelyhorizontal position.

7. In combination, means for guiding a. succession of similar articlesalong a curved path about an upright axis, laterally adjacent feed anddischarge lanes leading to and from the opposite ends of said path andeach having laterally spaced fixed bars therein, a series of barsmovable to parallel positions above and below the uppersurfaces of thefixed bars in one of said lanes, another series of bars tiltably movableto positions above and below the upper surfaces of the fixed bars in theother of said lanes, and means for simultaneously reciprocating bothsets of said movable bars.

8. In combination, means for guiding a succession of similar articlesalong a curved path about an upright axis, laterally adjacent feed anddischarge lanes leading to and from the opposite ends of said path andeach having laterally spaced fixed bars therein, a series of barsmovable to parallel positions above and below the upper surfaces of thefixed bars in said feed lane, another series of bars tiltablymovable topositions above and below the upper lsurfaces of the fixed bars in saiddischarge lane, and means for simultaneously reciprocating both sets ofsaid movable bars in opposite directions.

9. In combination, means for Iguiding a succession of similar contactingarticles along a delinite arcuate path about va. fixed upright axis,laterally adjacent parallel feed and discharge lanes lying inapproximately the same plane as said path and leading respectively toand from the opposite ends of the path, each of said lanes -h'avinglaterally spaced fixed bars therein provided with upper surfacesdisposed insaid plane, a series path and leading respectively to andfrom the opposite ends of the path, each of said lanes having laterallyspaced xed bars therein provided with upper surfaces disposed in saidplane, a series of bars movable to parallel positions above and belowthe upper surfaces of the xed bars in said feed lane, another series ofbars tiltably movable to positions above and below the upper surfaces ofthexed bars in said discharge lane, and means for simultaneouslyreciprocating both sets of said movable bars in opposite directions.

ALEX W. ARNOLD.

